Pretend You Don't See Her
by Scealai
Summary: Jarod is devestated after Miss Parker dies from getting shot in the back in Donoterase, but is he going crazy when he begins to hear her voice?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Pretend You Don't See Her  
Author: T. C.  
Rating: R  
Pairing: Jarod/Miss Parker  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from the television   
show The Pretender. They belong to Steven Long Mitchell,  
Craig W. Van Sickle, and TNT.  
Spoilers: Well, the show is in syndicated reruns and I haven't seen  
the movies because I don't get TNT, so I won't be spoiling  
anything there. This story takes place after the season  
finale of season three, Donoterase, where Miss Parker gets  
shot in the back and Jarod gets recaptured by the Centre.  
***********************************************************************  
Part One  
  
"Welcome back to the Center, Jarod." The words barely registered in  
Jarod's brain. He looked up. A splash of cloudless blue sky. Blonde  
hair dancing merrily in the breeze. Cold smirks of victory. The  
barrel of a nine millimeter. The images changed, shifting in and out  
of focus like a demented kaleidoscope. Jarod closed his eyes and lay   
his head back on the ground. Bridgette would shoot him if he tried to  
escape again. Then he would never see his father. Why hadn't he   
gone with them?  
  
Jarod's eyes snapped open and he rolled quickly onto his side. What  
Bridgette would do to him was the last thing on his mind. Mr. Parker  
knelt on the hard asphalt, cradling his daughter. All Jarod could   
see of Miss Parker was the long, silken strands of her dark hair   
trailing on the pavement. Thrump. Thrump. Thrump. The noise of the  
spinning chopper blades reverberated around him. He concentrated on   
that, he needed something to anchor him in this reality. He really   
didn't want to be here.  
  
A hand on his arm jerked Jarod to his feet and he found himself   
staring at a smug Mr. Lyle. "I can help her." Jarod tried to say it  
calmly, dispassionately, like he only cared that it was a human life he  
could save and not her specifically. But the anguish and naked   
pleading showed in his eyes. Miss Parker was dying.  
  
Lyle shrugged. "So can the doctors at the Center."  
  
Jarod went straight for the throat. He let the rage consume him.   
Become him. Lyle had never deserved life. He had proved that when he  
had killed Kyle and he was proving it again now by so callously   
dismissing his own sister's life. It took four sweepers to get Jarod  
off of Lyle. The tight grip of the handcuffs bit into his skin as he  
was pulled away and loaded into the helicopter.  
  
*****  
  
They let him watch. At first Jarod considered that a small comfort.  
In his small, sterile cell that consisted of a cot and a stainless   
steel sink, they had added a television. The monitor displayed a live  
feed from the cameras in Miss Parker's room in the Center's infirmary.  
The hated watchdogs of his youth were now a blessing. Jarod watched  
as the surgeons fought to remove the bullet and repair the damage it  
had wrought. He watched as Miss Parker was connected to a respirator,  
heart monitor, and various tubes that would do the living for her while  
she healed.   
  
His meals were delivered unobtrusively at regular intervals. No one  
bothered him. Jarod was too distracted to wonder why.  
  
It happened on the third day at three in the morning. Mr. Parker sat  
in the corner by the window. Despite Bridgette's tearful entreaties  
and Mr. Lyle's smooth arguments, he had refused to leave his   
daughter's room. Jarod would have felt sympathy for the man if all of  
his concern and love hadn't come too late. Sydney sat beside Miss   
Parker, his hand holding her limp one and his attention firmly fixed   
on her wan face. That's where Jarod wanted to be, holding her hand  
and begging her not to leave him. Tears were beginning to blur Jarod's  
vision when he saw Sydney's head suddenly jerk up. He followed his   
mentor's gaze to the heart monitor that faithfully read the beats of   
her heart. A long, thin, green line.  
  
"No!" Jarod shouted. He jumped up and placed his hands on the   
television screen. He watched helplessly as the Center's doctors  
raced in and battled with the machine's ominous readout. It didn't   
change. A long, thin, green line.  
  
Jarod smashed the television set when he saw Sydney start to cry.  
  
*****  
  
Bridgette stood in the doorway and surveyed the damage. Since   
witnessing Miss Parker's death, Jarod had smashed the television set,  
tore apart the cot's mattress, mangled the frame, and had even managed  
to tear the sink from the wall. Water had mixed with the mattress   
fluff, leaving a sodden mess. Jarod now sat in a corner facing the   
wall. Bridgette whistled a few bars of "Ding, Dong, the Witch is  
Dead" from the Wizard of Oz to announce her presence.  
  
"Jarod," she commanded sharply when that didn't get a reaction from   
him. He still didn't acknowledge her. Bridgette's lip curled in   
distaste. Her husband had turned into a zombie, Sydney and Broots were  
even more useless than usual, and even Mr. Lyle was subdued. And now  
Jarod had shut down. All because the brunette bitch had bought the  
farm! Bridgette couldn't understand what had inspired such an   
outpouring of grief.  
  
Jarod fingered the shard of glass that had once been part of the   
television screen. When his eyes were open he saw the thin, green line  
blazed across his field of vision. When his eyes were closed he saw  
the bullet ripping through the white fabric of Miss Parker's coat. He  
saw her stunned expression as she fell. Eyes open. Eyes closed. It  
didn't matter, both were hell.  
  
"Jarod." Bridgette's voice tried to penetrate his world once again.  
"We're moving you to another room." He felt hands pick him up and haul  
him to his feet. Jarod managed to hide his precious piece of glass  
before it was seen. They turned him to face Bridgette. She wore a   
tight fitting black suit. A slight smile crossed her face. "Sorry for  
my clothes, I just got back from a funeral. Lovely day for a mother/  
daughter reunion, don't you think?"  
  
Jarod's only reply was a grief stricken moan. Unsatisfied with that  
response, Bridgette waved them away.  
  
Mr. Lyle entered the room once Jarod was led away. He rubbed lightly  
at his bruised neck. "I hope you're not saying things like that to   
my father."  
  
"Of course not. I am the perfect, comforting wife. I even suggested   
that we name our new bundle of joy Angel, after the dearly departed."  
Bridgette smiled coyly and patted her belly. Her life was perfect.  
The biggest obstacle to her plans had been eliminated and she hadn't  
even gotten her hands bloody. "It looks like our suspicions were   
correct all along. Jarod and Miss Parker did have an attachment. No  
wonder she never caught him, it would have put an end to whatever they  
had going on behind closed doors."  
  
Lyle's face was an unreadable mask. "The state of this room only tells  
us how Jarod feels. I doubt that my sister shared those feelings, let  
alone acted upon them." There was a hard edge to Lyle's voice.   
Bridgette was disappointed. She had thought he would share her glee  
in the death of her rival, but instead he seemed almost sad. Like he  
really cared that he had lost a sister.  
  
"In any case, Jarod is of no use to us in the state he's in. We have  
to snap him out of it."  
  
"I agree, but that's your job, Bridgette. Mine is tracking down Major  
Charles and retrieving the clone."  
  
Bridgette took a lollipop out of her pocket and removed the wrapper.   
She dropped into the messy cell and slipped the candy into her mouth.  
"Business as usual. That is the Center's motto."  
  
*****  
  
Jarod's new "room" was even more spartan than the first. It contained  
only a foam pallet in the corner. He sat cross-legged on it with   
his back to the door and the cameras. He would not allow them to see   
his grief.   
  
The shard of glass bit into his hand, but Jarod barely registered the  
pain. Miss Parker was dead. That was the only pain he could   
acknowledge. Blood dripped from his closed palm.  
  
"Ouch, that has to hurt. I never took you for the self abusive type,  
Jarod," Miss Parker's smooth voice taunted him. Jarod looked behind  
him, but there was no one in the room with him. But it had been her  
voice. "What exactly are you planning on doing with that thing?" her  
voice was more worried and less mocking now.  
  
Jarod closed his eyes. "I don't know," he whispered. "I want to be  
with you."  
  
"There's only one problem with that plan. Using your sharp little   
friend will make you dead and I'm not dead."  
  
  
To be continued.... 


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two  
  
Jarod's heart beat wildly and he eased his grip on the glass shard.  
Miss Parker was alive! He didn't know why he hadn't thought of it  
before. The Center had faked her death to make him vulnerable and   
more likely to co-operate. That was why they had allowed him to watch  
her progress. The Center usually wasn't that considerate. He didn't  
bother analyzing how or why Miss Parker was talking to him.  
  
"Bridgette told me you were having trouble coping," Sydney said  
quietly, announcing his presence as unobtrusively as possible. Sydney  
had an inkling of the connection Jarod and Miss Parker had shared.  
Forged in childhood, despite their seeming animosity as adults, it  
had strengthened. Her loss would devastate him. "I'm sorry I didn't  
come sooner."  
  
Jarod jumped up from his foam pallet and embraced Sydney. "She's not  
dead," he whispered hoarsely through his tears of joy, "She told me  
she's not dead. It's all a plot, Sydney. They want me to think  
she's dead, but she's not."  
  
Sydney listened to Jarod's excited babbling with growing concern.  
"No, Jarod, Miss Parker is dead. I was there. I watched her die,"  
Sydney told him gently, but firmly. He couldn't allow Jarod to keep  
denying Miss Parker's death. As a pretender, he could make his  
delusions his reality very easily.  
  
Jarod pulled away from Sydney. "No! She told me she was alive."  
  
"And how did she do that, Jarod? Miss Parker isn't here in this   
room with us," Sydney said calmly. Reason was the best way to battle  
Jarod's grief-based delusions. Once he realized what he was doing,   
they could begin helping him come to terms with Miss Parker's death.  
"I was at her side when she died. I was at her funeral today, Jarod.  
Do you believe that I would be a part of this plot?"  
  
Jarod shook his head, but still kept himself away from Sydney. How had  
Miss Parker spoken to him? He had heard her voice so clearly. And  
Sydney's allegiances were in question when it came to him. Jarod   
wasn't sure how far Sydney would go to get back his guinea pig and  
the greatest research project he would ever hope to conduct. There  
was only one way to be sure. "I want to see her."  
  
"That's impossible, Jarod. We buried her today. She's with her mother  
and Thomas now. We have to let her go."  
  
Jarod nodded, slowly. Sydney was making sense. Too much sense. What  
if this was a simulation to see how Jarod would react to Miss Parker's  
death? Sydney would be interested in seeing how living in the "real"  
world had changed Jarod's coping skills. It would also be a way of  
keeping him from escaping. Jarod was now more sure than ever that he  
wouldn't be able to trust Sydney this time. The thought saddened him.  
"Take me to her grave. I need to see it," Jarod insisted. He   
clenched his fists and barely noticed the pain of the glass shard  
biting once again into his palm or the blood that dripped through his  
fingers to the pristine floor.  
  
But Sydney did. "Jarod, I'll see what I can do." Sydney stepped   
forward cautiously. He laid a hand on Jarod's shoulder. "You have  
to promise me that you won't do anything rash. There are still people  
who need you." Sydney held out his other hand. "Please give me what  
you have in your hand, Jarod. It won't solve anything."  
  
Jarod looked down at his hand. Sydney was wrong. His parents had a  
second chance in raising his clone, the Center had provided that, and  
Sydney had his newfound son. The only person who had truly needed   
him and only him had been Miss Parker.  
  
"I still need you, Jarod," Miss Parker's voice whispered through his  
mind. He looked up quickly at Sydney, but could see no indication   
that the older man had heard the voice as well. Sydney still had that  
patiently concerned look on his face. Jarod opened his palm and   
allowed Sydney to take the glass shard. It was the quickest way to   
get rid of him.  
  
"Thank you, Jarod." Sydney sighed with relief. "You rest and I will  
be back to talk with you later."  
  
Jarod turned and faced the wall once again when Sydney left. He barely  
acknowledged the attendant who came in and dressed the wounds on his  
hand. Miss Parker needed him.  
  
"Amelia," Jarod whispered the name she had shared with him so long   
ago once he was alone, "Are you still here?"  
  
"No, Jarod, I'm in Bermuda working on my tan. Where the hell else   
would I be?"  
  
"Where are you? What happened?"  
  
"How the fuck should I know? You're the genius!"  
  
Jarod smiled at the impatience in her voice. Mysteries had never been  
Miss Parker's favorite, she had always read the last page first.  
"Can you see anything? Hear anything?"  
  
"You. I can see and hear you." Jarod was sure that if she were able,  
Miss Parker would be pacing. "Sometimes I can hear another voice,  
but it's far away and....and I don't like it."  
  
"Do you recognize the voice? What does it say?" Miss Parker didn't  
answer. She didn't say anything for a long time, so long that Jarod  
was afraid that he had lost whatever connection there was between   
them.  
  
"If I were dead, my mother would come for me, right? She wouldn't   
leave me in limbo, alone in the dark. She would understand and forgive  
me for being a horrible person." Miss Parker's voice trembled with  
fear and uncertainty.  
  
"You are not a horrible person!" Jarod yelled, "Is that what this voice  
is telling you?" Jarod jumped up and began pacing his small cell. He  
had to find her. She was alone and whoever was with her was tormenting  
her with her insecurities. But to find her, he needed his freedom,   
from his cell at least, and the only way to get that would be to   
pretend that he didn't hear Miss Parker and co-operate with the Center.  
  
*****  
  
Bridgette glanced over at Sydney. "My, my, such mood swings." They   
watched Jarod through a one-way mirror as he stopped his wild pacing  
and settled to the floor. "What's up. Doc? What is our ratboy   
thinking?"  
  
Sydney winced at Bridgette's use of Miss Parker's nickname for Jarod.  
He had never liked it, but no matter how harshly Miss Parker had   
spoken, he had known that there had been a degree of affection there.  
When Bridgette said it, it was just mean. "He's pretending, only this  
time he isn't pretending to be a doctor or an astronaut. He's   
pretending to live in a world where Miss Parker is still alive."  
  
Bridgette laughed, a cruel chuckle that went perfectly with her snide  
smile. "Good luck with that one, Jarod, at least the rest of us don't  
have to live there."  
  
"You don't understand. If Jarod continues, he will become increasingly  
delusional and eventually go completely insane. No matter how much  
he pretends, he won't be able to bring Miss Parker back as a flesh and  
blood person."  
  
"Well, then, we'll give him a few days and if he doesn't snap out of   
it then he's no longer useful." Bridgette punctuated her threat by  
pointing her fingers into a gun and aiming it at Jarod. "There's no  
room at the Center for things that are no longer useful."  
  
To be continued..... 


	3. Chapter 3

Part Three  
  
Miss Parker didn't know where she was. This wasn't like when she died  
and Faith had visited her. Then she had seen the hospital room, the  
doctors, and Faith, but now she couldn't see where she was.   
Everything was blue, like the blue screens they used in movies and she  
was just an actor waiting for the special effects to arrive. Maybe  
that was it, maybe her life had been nothing but a series of fabricated  
images that someone had decided to turn off. A Grimm Fairytale that  
had reached its conclusion, the Ice Princess who pushed the people she  
loved away was left alone in limbo.  
  
"Wakes up....different," a voice hissed at the edges of her   
consciousness, reminding her that she wasn't exactly alone. She had  
these voices that whispered horrible things that she could half hear  
and then tried desperately to forget. And Jarod. She could hear   
Jarod and for some insane reason, he could hear her. And sometimes,  
when she concentrated, she could see him, but he was on the other side  
of the blue where she couldn't touch him. Despite that, the connection  
with Jarod was the only thing keeping her sane. If it weren't for  
that, she might have already given in to the voices.  
  
*****  
  
"Good morning, Sydney," Jarod greeted his mentor brightly. "When do we  
get started?"  
  
Sydney's eyebrows rose slightly. Jarod looked at him expectantly,   
with no trace of yesterday's mania. Instead Jarod looked strangely  
eager. "Start what, Jarod?"  
  
Jarod stood up. He knew that Sydney was no fool, he wouldn't fall for  
this miraculous turnaround completely. But he would go along with it,  
if only to find out what Jarod was up to. "Simulations, of course.   
I expect that the Centre will want me to earn my keep."  
  
"Yes, but your compliance is unexpected. Before we start with the  
simulations, why don't we talk about Miss Parker?"  
  
"She's dead," Jarod said flatly and winced. The eagerness died from   
his eyes and was replaced by...nothing.  
  
Sydney observed Jarod's reactions closely. Yesterday he had yo-yoed  
between insisting on a conspiracy and considering suicide. He was  
up to something. "What changed? Why do you now accept her death?"  
  
"I thought about it. About what you said. I'll co-operate with you  
while I'm here, but it won't stop me from trying to escape. I will  
find my family again."  
  
Sydney smiled. Jarod was back. He had shaken loose from his   
delusions. "Then let's go see what we can find for us to do." Sydney  
led Jarod out of his tiny cell.  
  
*****  
  
The simulations were boring. Jarod sighed and turned his attention   
back to the computer. They had him working on a Y2K problem for  
God's sake. What if the Y2K solution implemented didn't work and all  
of the world's computers crashed on New Year's Eve? What if Jarod's  
brain exploded from sheer boredom?  
  
"Jarod, are you okay?" Sydney hovered at Jarod's shoulder. The small,  
slightly evil looking, smile playing on Jarod's lips was unnerving  
him.   
  
"Not as much fun as screwing with people's lives, is it?" Miss   
Parker's voice reminded Jarod that she seemed to have free access to   
his thoughts.  
  
"I only screwed with the people who deserved it," Jarod thought back   
at her. "But you are right, this isn't as much fun."  
  
"Poor baby. You do realize that there is no 'what if' in this   
situation. When you find the solution then the Centre will make sure  
that, despite precautions, systems will crash and that they will have  
the only solution. For a price."  
  
"That's why I'm not going to solve it." Jarod blinked at the computer  
screen. For a second he thought he had seen Miss Parker's face  
reflected behind his own.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous. Angelo could solve this stupid simulation."  
  
"Jarod, say something!" Sydney's desperate demand interrupted Jarod's  
internal conversation with Miss Parker. Jarod looked up in confusion  
at him. "I asked if you were okay and you ignored me."  
  
"Sorry, Sydney." Jarod scratched his head. Miss Parker had given   
him an idea. "I think I need Angelo's help with this one. While I  
was...away...I worked on concrete, human problems and not these   
abstract 'what if' scenarios. I need Angelo."  
  
"Angelo." Jarod could hear the disbelief in Sydney's voice, but the  
older man didn't say anything to contradict him. Instead, Sydney made  
the call to have Angelo sent over to them.  
  
"Not a bad idea, Jarod. Do you really think Cousin...Angelo can find  
me?"  
  
"Yes, I do." Jarod hoped he wasn't lying.  
  
To be continued.... 


	4. Chapter 4

Part Four  
  
Angelo shuffled his fastest gait down the grey halls. A small smile  
played across his usually baffled expression and a light that wasn't  
often present gleamed in his eyes. For the first time in a long time  
Jarod was back and had renewed his connection with the Daughter. It   
would be just like when they were kids, only better. This time he and  
Jarod would save the Daughter and she would be free of the Center.   
They would all be free. Angelo turned into the room at the end of the  
corridor, sidling past the two burly guards flanking the doorway.  
  
"Angelo." Jarod stood up and gave him an awkward hug. His hands and  
feet were bound in chains, limiting his movement. "It's good to see  
you."  
  
"Daughter alive," Angelo mumbled softly. He said nothing else because  
of the hovering presence of Sydney. Angelo liked Sydney, he was one  
of the few people who treated him like a human being, but he still   
viewed Sydney as the adult in their dysfunctional world. The adult  
didn't participate in their secret adventures.  
  
Jarod smiled and patted Angelo's shoulder. "Yes. I need your help...  
with this program I'm working on." Jarod led Angelo over to the   
computer and they sat down. Sydney stood behind them, allowing a   
small smile of contentment. The peaceful scene didn't last long. The   
hollow tap of her heels coming down the hallway announced Bridgette's   
presence long before she arrived. The three of them were already tense   
by the time she stood in the doorway.  
  
"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Such hard workers. I hear you didn't   
even break for lunch. Making up for lost time, Jarod?" Bridgette  
asked the question pleasantly enough, but she walked toward them like  
a stalking tiger trying to convince its prey it was a harmless kitten.  
"Or is it more of a mourning thing? Keeping yourself busy so you   
aren't consumed by the memories of your dead beloved. So, sad."  
  
No one interrupted Bridgette during her taunting monologue. Sydney  
shifted uncomfortably and kept a trained eye on Jarod. He wasn't sure  
how fragile Jarod's psyche was or how much it could take, in fact he  
didn't know much about Jarod at all anymore. His behavior was strange,  
erratic. Thoroughly human. A part of Sydney was proud, another   
was scared because he had no idea how Jarod was going to react.  
  
Jarod stared at the computer screen, willing Bridgette to get bored  
and leave. There was no way he and Angelo could work out Miss Parker's  
whereabouts with her standing over them. A small stack of photographs  
splashed across the keyboard in front of him. They were pictures of  
Miss Parker. In a coffin.  
  
"I brought you a present," Bridgette cooed in his ear.  
  
"Bitch!" Miss Parker's voice seethed in Jarod's mind. "I can't wait   
to wipe that smug look off her face."  
  
"Miss Parker," Jarod said aloud in a toneless voice. He picked up the  
first photograph, it was one of Miss Parker in a lacquered black   
coffin, white satin cushioning her body like a cloud. He looked up at   
Bridgette, a hint of suspicion glinting in his eyes. "Why are you so  
desperate to offer me proof of her death?"  
  
Sydney scooped up the pictures and plucked the one from Jarod's hand.  
He grabbed Bridgette's arm and pulled her out of the room before   
anything more could be said.  
  
The drama that had just played out had little effect on Angelo. He  
was already focused on finding the Daughter. She was here, in the  
Center, he could feel the vibrant pulse of her emotions close by. It  
was different from the usual Daughter feeling, now it held more fear.  
"It's okay," Angelo crooned softly, "The bad voice is wrong. Don't   
listen."  
  
Jarod frowned at his sensitive friend. He didn't want to break   
Angelo's concentration, but the question was eating at him. Who the  
hell was this bad voice? And what was it saying to Miss Parker?  
  
*****  
  
"Let go of me!" Bridgette snapped, tearing her arm from Sydney's grasp.  
"What the hell do you thing you're doing? Have you gone insane, old  
man?"  
  
Sydney pushed Bridgette against the wall and threw the pictures onto  
the floor. "No, but apparently that is what you want Jarod to do.   
This sort of cruelty could push him back into a delusional state   
permanently. He will be useless to the Center. Now I know that you   
won't cry any tears if Jarod is killed, but how do you think the  
Triumvirate will feel when I tell them it was your fault that they lost  
their most valuable asset?"  
  
The whirring of the central air, usually an annoying buzz at the back  
of everyone's consciousness, became loudly prominent in the silence  
after Sydney's threat. Bridgette straightened, smoothing her hair  
and clothes. She was well aware of the scrutiny of the two guards who  
were trying not to watch them. "You may be overestimating your pet  
project's value. The only reason so much time and money was spent in  
recovering Jarod was because it was a misguided attempt on my husband's  
part to keep his little girl on the team. Chasing Jarod kept Miss  
Parker busy and at the Center. That particular function is now moot."  
The spiked heel of Bridgette's shoe tore into the glossy surface of  
the photograph of Miss Parker in her coffin as she stepped past Sydney  
and walked back down the hall.  
  
*****  
  
She looked so peaceful. Rested. Shadowy pale skin surrounded by   
dark hair laying on stark white linens. She looked like an angel.   
Their father had picked an appropriate nickname. Lyle laid Miss   
Parker's hand across her abdomen. His sister. And he didn't even know  
her first name. But Jarod did.  
  
Lyle leaned over, his lips close to Miss Parker's ear. "Our mother  
would be very disappointed in you," he whispered, "Family was the most  
important thing to her and you abandoned your brother. You tried to  
kill me. And I know you'll deny it with your last breath, but you   
have aligned yourself with Jarod against me."  
  
"Mr. Lyle?" a nondescript man in a white lab coat interrupted Lyle's  
whispered tirade.   
  
"What?" Lyle snapped, standing up and facing the man.  
  
"I have to caution you once again, keeping her in this induced coma  
could cause permanent damage. How much longer do you insist on   
continuing this?"  
  
Lyle frowned at the little man and started to answer, but his attention  
was diverted by Miss Parker. She tossed her head against the pillow  
and clutched at the bed sheets. "Jarod," she croaked hoarsely. Lyle  
turned back to his sister. He took her hand in his once again, but it  
wasn't a comforting gesture. Miss Parker moaned in pain as Lyle  
cruelly squeezed her fingers in his grip.  
  
"As long as it takes to insure her loyalty. To me." Lyle let go of  
her hand and walked to the door. "Give her another dose. We can't   
have her waking up as herself."  
  
To be continued..... 


	5. Chapter 5

Part Five  
  
Bridgette walked with determined strides toward her husband's office.  
How dare that...that Dr. Frankenstein speak to her that way! Jarod was  
her project now that the Parker bitch was dead. If she wanted to  
torment him, it was her right. She had earned it.   
  
"Hello, Darling," Bridgette greeted Mr. Parker brightly as she stepped  
into his darkened office. This was another disappointment. The great  
Mr. Parker turned to a shell of a man just because his daughter was  
dead. He would lose it all if he didn't snap out of it. "I just left  
Jarod. He's doing well, although I think Sydney's too overprotective.  
We should probably rethink his position in Jarod's life at the Center."  
  
Mr. Parker smiled. "Jarod loves Angel. He had since he was a little  
boy. We arranged it. And Angel loved him. That's why she pursued   
him so relentlessly. I think she was hurt that he didn't take her with  
him." Mr. Parker lapsed into silence. His eyes sparkled with unshed  
tears.  
  
"How touching." Bridgette rolled her eyes. This had to stop. She was  
going to be sick and it would have nothing to do with her pregnancy.  
She reached out and ran her fingers through Mr. Parker's thinning  
hair. Weak and feeble were not turn-ons. "It's so glum in here,  
Darling, why don't we open the shades." Bridgette did just that   
without waiting for agreement. She put on her best sympathetic wifely  
concerned look. "There that's better. It's time that we looked to  
the future and our own bundle of joy rather than lament the past. Our  
baby needs a strong, powerful father." She took her husband's hand   
and placed it on her extended abdomen.   
  
"My sister was a remarkable woman, she won't be forgotten." Mr. Lyle  
stood in the office doorway, his arms crossed and his gaze cold. He  
walked toward them, sorrow etching itself onto his features. "I only  
wish that I had more time as her brother. That we had been closer."  
  
"Yes. Angel was such a bright young girl. She, Jarod, and Angelo  
were always getting into things here at the Center. Things they had  
no business getting into..." Mr. Parker trailed off and stared dreamily  
into space. After a moment, his gaze hardened. He glared at his wife  
and son. "Maybe if you two had grown up together she wouldn't have  
gotten so close to such bad influences. Have you found Major Charles  
and the Jarod clone?"  
  
"I'm afraid not. The plane landed in Hawaii, but no other aircraft  
was rented or leased on the island by anyone who didn't return them  
after that." Lyle sighed. "I'm afraid hunting was never my forte. I  
was always better at persuasion."  
  
"Yes." Mr. Parker's eyes gleamed and his teeth flashed in a cruel  
smile. "That is one of your talents. Perhaps Jarod could use some  
persuasion in telling us where his father and the clone are."  
  
"You would kill him before Jarod would tell you where his father is."  
Bridgette looked aghast at the two men. Lyle was not going to take   
Jarod away from her. He was her chance to prove to the Triumvirate  
that she was a real player in their game and not just a lackey. If  
she turned Jarod into a useful tool for the Center than her reward just  
might be her husband's office and she wouldn't need to use him or her  
unborn brat anymore. "He probably doesn't even know where they are  
and Sydney wouldn't stand for it. Jarod is like a son to him."  
  
"Yes, you are right, my dear. Sydney is much too overprotective of  
Jarod and his position in Jarod's life here should be rethought." Mr.  
Parker nodded. "It was Jarod's attachment to my daughter that   
endangered her life. It's only fair that he rejoin her if he becomes  
any more of a problem for us. The recapture of the clone will satisfy  
the Triumvirate. Bridgette, I believe that you will have better luck  
tracking down Major Charles."  
  
"But, the baby." Bridgette patted her belly. "I can't fly around the  
world chasing after Jarod's father when I'm pregnant with your child."  
  
"I'm sure you'll think of some other way then. Lyle, you're in charge  
of Jarod now." Mr. Parker waved in dismissal to both of them. His  
Angel was dead and it was Jarod's fault. She had never really trusted  
him, had always questioned his love for her and that was Jarod's fault  
as well. And now Jarod would find out what it was really like to be  
a prisoner and pawn of the Center. It certainly wouldn't be anything  
like his idyllic childhood - for one thing he wouldn't have his Angel  
for company.   
  
*****  
  
The search for Miss Parker was taking too long. Jarod lay down on his  
pallet and covered his eyes with his arm. The Center was a horrible  
labyrinth of secret sectors and sublevels and it had only grown since he  
had left. Finding Miss Parker was making him feel like a mouse   
searching for cheese in a cruel maze where every turn led to a dead  
end.  
  
"Frustrating, isn't it?" Miss Parker's voice was strangely amused.   
"Chasing after someone who is so close, but so far away. I guess the  
only difference is that I want you to find me."  
  
"I didn't want you to catch me," Jarod corrected, mumbling softly out  
loud. He knew that the ever present Center cameras would record his  
behavior, but hopefully his watchers would just think talking to   
himself was a habit he had picked up. It just seemed right to talk to  
her like she was there in front of him and not just in his head. "I   
always wanted you to find me."  
  
"Why did you leave me, Jarod?" Miss Parker asked the question that had  
plagued her since Jarod's escape. The one that had spurred her   
stubborn pursuit of him. "I know why you left the Center, but why did  
you leave me?" Without giving Jarod time to answer Miss Parker   
continued, "Never mind, don't answer that. There are more important  
questions like does Angelo have any idea where the hell I am?"  
  
"He narrowed it down to some newer sectors in sublevel S76. They   
aren't on any of the blueprints, but Angelo knows they exist. He's   
going to check them out tonight." Jarod let Miss Parker's moment of  
vulnerability go without comment. He wasn't sure if he wanted to   
answer that question, it would have left him open. Right now they were  
experiencing an intimate connection, but who knew what would happen  
once Miss Parker was found and back with her father. She had chosen  
them over him too many times. "Don't worry, we'll find you. I'll find  
you."  
  
"Not if we find them first," Mr. Lyle unwittingly interrupted. "You  
certainly have bounced back from your psychotic break after my sister's  
unfortunate death. So, where are Major Charles and the clone?"  
  
"I have no idea." Jarod didn't bother to remove his arm from over his  
face to look at the other man. He despised Mr. Lyle. It sickened him  
to think that the psycho shared a familial bond with Miss Parker.  
  
"You wouldn't tell me if you did." Mr. Lyle smirked with anticipation.  
Not only did he have his lovely sister under his control, but he also  
had the opportunity to torture Jarod - the wonder boy. He nodded at  
the sweepers at his side and they entered the cell and pulled Jarod to  
his feet. Mr. Lyle chuckled. The irony was delicious. He was about   
to punish his sister's adored Jarod for her 'death.'  
  
"What's so funny?" Jarod glared. "Is that how you mourn your sister?"  
  
"No, I have other ways that I enjoy so much more. I'm here to inform  
you that Bridgette is now in charge of tracking down your father and  
errant clone and I am in charge of you." Mr. Lyle frowned. Jarod   
didn't look as dispirited as he had expected. For some reason he   
wasn't broken any more. Oh, well, that would just make this more fun.  
"You put my sister where she is now. When I'm in pain, I like to   
inflict pain. You won't be running any Sims for a while, Jarod. At  
least not until you're fully healed."  
  
*****  
  
If it had been physically possible, Miss Parker would have been sick.  
She hated Lyle, he was a monster. She felt the waves of pain that   
crashed through her connection with Jarod. Since the beating had   
started, there had been no words between them. She had tried to   
comfort Jarod as best she could, but soothing didn't come naturally to  
her. Anger did. She was mad as hell at Lyle for what he was doing to  
Jarod and to her. She needed to get out of here - this blue place   
where her only contact was with Jarod. She had finally recognized the   
voice that hissed such vile and horrible things at her when she had   
heard it again. It was Lyle's.  
  
*****  
  
The body on the bed convulsed, prompting the two men in the room to  
rush over to her. "What's wrong? Is she waking up?" the younger man  
asked. He was dressed in a dark suit and immediately took out a cell  
phone. He stood back and waited while the man in a white lab coat  
checked the woman. She convulsed again and a fountain of foul smelling  
bile spilled from her lips and wet the sheet under her chin.  
  
"Contact Mr. Lyle. I don't think I can administer any more of the drug  
and she might be regaining consciousness."  
  
The man in the suit nodded. "Mr. Lyle, we need you in the Correction  
Chamber. She may be coming out of her coma."  
  
*****  
  
The room was insanely bright. White walls practically vibrated with  
the sunlight that streamed in from the large windows that looked out  
onto the rolling green hills and wave tossed blue ocean. Jarod was   
alone, but he was in no shape to escape even if he had wanted to at  
that moment. After an hour of beating him, Lyle had finally stopped,  
but only because of a phone call. Jarod groaned and tried to lift his  
head. He was sitting on a metal chair with his hands handcuffed   
behind him. His chest ached with each labored breath - Lyle had   
concentrated most of his blows on his torso - and he could almost feel  
the bruises as they formed.  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Miss Parker whispered in his mind. She had  
stayed with him the whole time. At first he had gotten an uncertain  
sense of concern and tentative warmth from her, but soon that was  
overpowered by anger. He liked the anger, it had helped blot out the  
pain, and he liked that she was angry because of what was being done to  
him. Compassion and concern could be felt for strangers - Jarod knew  
that well enough - but the consuming, burning anger he had felt from   
Miss Parker only happened when you really cared. She cared when he was  
hurt.  
  
"No." Jarod tried to shake his head. "Not your fault." He could   
taste the salty residue of his blood on his cracked lips as he spoke.  
A pounding rush at the back of his head alerted him to impending  
unconsciousness. He had to tell her something first. He didn't care  
how vulnerable it made him to her, she had to know. "I came to you the  
night I escaped. I waited in the dark outside your house. It had been  
so long since I had last seen you. I was afraid...afraid I had lost  
you to the Center."  
  
"Never. Jarod, you'll never lose me to the Center," Miss Parker  
vowed, but she didn't expect a reply. Jarod had already passed out.  
  
To be continued.... 


	6. Chapter 6

Part Six  
  
Her head hurt and that was an understatement. The pain was ten times  
worse than any hangover she had ever experienced. Her whole head hurt  
with a thudding ache and sharp zinging pains. Her name was Miss   
Parker. She had sand in her throat. A soft moan managed to grate its  
way through her parched lips and she felt a warm hand squeeze hers in  
response. Great, she was alive and she had body parts that didn't  
torture her. She forced her eyes to open.  
  
"Take it easy," a strong masculine voice soothed. He was a dark   
blurry figure at the side of her bed and even though Miss Parker  
couldn't get his features in focus yet, she knew it was him. He had  
promised to never leave her. He was the only one she could trust, the  
only one who truly loved and protected her. Everything else was just  
lies. "You may have been asleep all this time, but you still need   
your rest."  
  
"Lyle." Miss Parker smiled at her brother. Her eyes fluttered closed  
again as she fell into a peaceful sleep. Her brother would take care  
of her.  
  
"Sweet dreams." Lyle released Miss Parker's hand and sat back in his  
chair. His sister had never smiled at him like that before. She had  
smiled at him like he had imagined their mother had smiled at her when  
she was a child. She loved him. She trusted him. It had worked. His  
sister was on his side. Lyle chuckled. She would be groggy until the  
drugs were fully out of her system and her bullet wound completely  
healed, but after that there would be no stopping them. She didn't  
belong to Jarod anymore.  
  
*****  
  
The first thing Jarod became aware of when he regained consciousness  
was that she was gone. The emptiness Miss Parker's absence in his   
mind created eclipsed all the physical pain caused by Lyle's beating.  
Where was she? Had she left him? Was she dead? Jarod moaned in pain  
and grief. He couldn't lose her, it had destroyed him when he had  
thought she had died before. "M...Miss Parker," Jarod mumbled feebly,  
blood from his broken and swollen lips dripped down his chin. He   
wouldn't say her given name out loud. Lyle or one of his lackeys   
could hear it and they didn't deserve that knowledge. Her first name   
was a shared secret they had kept from the Centre. It belonged to   
him.  
  
"Shhh," a soft female voice soothed him. A hard fingernail trailed  
down Jarod's cheek. "I'm here, Jarod," the voice whispered softly in  
his ear.   
  
Jarod desperately wanted to believe it was Miss Parker. He wished   
that she had recovered and had found her way to him so they could   
leave this hellhole together. It was how it should have been. He   
should have faced his fear that night and taken her with him when he   
had escaped the Centre. Jarod forced his eyes open as much as he   
could. "B...Bridgette."  
  
"Of course, Darling." Bridgette straightened up. "Were you expecting  
a visit from the dearly departed? Don't hold your breath. I've been  
put in charge of the search for Major Charles and the clone."  
  
"Congratulations." Jarod wasn't worried about his father or the boy   
who had been created from his DNA, they were long gone and could take   
care of themselves. Miss Parker was vulnerable, she needed him and now  
he was totally cut off from her with no idea as to how to find her.  
Bridgette hated Miss Parker and saw her as an obstacle to her career at  
the Centre. Was she the one holding Miss Parker captive and whispering  
nasty things while she was in a coma?  
  
Bridgette grimaced. "It's not a promotion. Where's your father,   
Jarod?"  
  
"What have you done with Miss Parker?" Jarod strained against his   
bindings. He wanted to catch her off guard with his knowledge by   
accusing her outright.   
  
"Stuck her six feet under like her weakling of a mother." Bridgette  
snorted. "Stop playing games, Jarod, and tell me what I want to know.  
I might be able to help you. Mr. Lyle has quite the grudge, I guess he  
had more affection for his sister than anyone realized. He'll probably  
kill you."  
  
"I know Miss Parker isn't dead. Where is she?" Jarod watched   
Bridgette closely. She wasn't panicking and, despite what she thought  
of herself, she was not cool under pressure. She believed that Miss  
Parker was dead. He still couldn't hear her voice in his head or feel  
her presence. Maybe she was dead.  
  
"Bridgette, what are you doing here?" Lyle enquired coolly. His  
flinty gaze moved from his pregnant stepmother to his captive. "Jarod  
is my project now."  
  
"It's just a friendly interrogation." Bridgette smiled and walked   
toward Lyle. "You worked him over so well, it was a shame to waste it.  
Where did you disappear to in such a hurry?"  
  
"Business. Mine, not yours." Lyle kept his eyes trained on Jarod. He  
had heard what he said about Miss Parker. Somehow Jarod knew that his  
sister was still alive. Lyle smirked. It didn't matter, it was too  
late. The bastard was in no shape to interfere anyway. He couldn't  
wait to see the look on Jarod's face when he realized that Miss Parker  
was not only alive, but lost to him. "Who is Jarod looking for?"  
  
"His puppy love, who else?" Bridgette sneered. Jarod and the Parker  
bitch had always made her want to puke. The Centre's 'Romeo and   
Juliet' project had worked a little too well in her opinion. They  
were nauseatingly devoted to each other. "You've beat him delusional,  
Lyle. Jarod thinks I've got his precious Miss Parker stashed   
somewhere."  
  
"Really?" Lyle didn't bother to hide his amusement. He didn't need to,  
he had won. "Then he won't be of any use to you."  
  
"I guess not." Bridgette smiled tightly. Lyle was up to something. He  
was much too smug for her for her comfort. "If you're not careful,   
he won't be of any use to the Centre either."   
  
Jarod and Lyle didn't say anything to each other after Bridgette left.  
There was no need for words. Jarod had no doubts as to who had Miss  
Parker. He should have known it was Lyle. Only he was underhanded and  
cruel enough to take advantage of a sick woman. What did he want from  
her? Jarod was almost afraid of the answer.  
  
*****  
  
They had left Daughter alone finally. Angelo slipped the grate off of  
the air conditioning vent and slid into the room soundlessly. Daughter  
was sleeping, but it was the good kind of sleep - the kind where she  
could wake up - so he had to be quiet. Daughter didn't like to be  
woken by loud noises and she always had her gun with her. Angelo   
shuffled closer to the bed. Jarod was going to be so happy that they  
had found Daughter. She was sleeping so peacefully. Angelo frowned.  
Daughter was never peaceful. Tentatively, he reached out and touched  
her hand. Peace. Security. An overwhelming feeling of calmness swept  
over Angelo. That wasn't Daughter. Daughter worried. Daughter   
feared. Daughter was a tight knot of emotions frozen in ice.  
  
The hand Angelo was touching turned and grasped his in a punishing   
grip. Angelo looked down and met Miss Parker's blue eyes. To his   
relief suspicion slithered through the calm. "What do you want?"  
  
"Daughter." Angelo smiled happily. This was the Daughter he knew.  
"Daughter well."   
  
"And it's going to stay that way." Miss Parker pushed Angelo away from  
her. "Lyle! Lyle, help!"  
  
"No!" Angelo shook his head furiously. Why was she shouting? "Don't  
call him. Angelo helps Daughter." She wasn't listening to him.   
Angelo scrambled back into the vent as two sweepers burst into the   
room. Something was wrong with Daughter. Angelo stopped in the middle  
of an intersection of vents to think. Daughter had called to the Lost  
One for help. The Lost One was mean and cruel. He had killed Jarod's  
brother and enjoyed torturing people. Daughter hated the Lost One.  
She hated that he was her brother. Angelo shook his head in confusion  
and turned to the vent on his right to continue on his way. He would  
tell Jarod. Jarod would know how to help Daughter. Jarod could stop  
the Lost One.  
  
*****  
  
Miss Parker. Amelia. Jarod let the names alternate in his head as he  
lay curled up on his cot in his cell. Lyle had his henchmen dump him  
in here because he had more important things to do. There was still  
no answer. She wasn't dead. Jarod held onto that hope. She hadn't   
died while he was unconscious from Lyle's beating. She just couldn't  
tap into their connection, probably because she was no longer in a   
coma. Miss Parker's consciousness always had gotten in the way of her  
feelings.  
  
God, he missed her. She had been a part of his life for so long, but  
he had never really felt close to her until she had been a part of his  
mind. He was not going to lose that closeness. "I won't leave you  
here," Jarod promised her. He was going to drag Miss Parker away from  
the Centre kicking and screaming if he had to. They were going to   
disappear. Together.  
  
To be continued.... 


	7. Chapter 7

Part Seven

"When can I get the hell out of here?" Miss Parker demanded. She shifted in her hospital bed and sighed.

"When you're better." Lyle patted her hand. "You have to take it easy."

"I'm inert, if I take it any easier I'll be dead." Miss Parker snorted and sat up higher in the bed. Lyle reached up and gripped her arm,  
stilling her movements. Miss Parker frowned. She didn't like it when he touched her. It made her uncomfortable and she didn't know why.  
He was her brother, she should be comfortable with him. His touch shouldn't feel strange and make her shiver.

"Please, don't even joke about that." Lyle squeezed her arm. "I lost Mom before I got the change to know her, I can't lose you too. I don't want to even think about how close it came to happening this time."

"I'm sorry, Lyle, I didn't mean anything by it." Miss Parker smiled.  
"I'm just antsy. I want to go home."

"And you will, as soon as I'm sure you're better." Lyle smiled. So far things had been going well. Miss Parker had accepted all of the gestures of a doting sibling that he had made and had even returned them. It was actually going better than he had planned, but there were still a few tests she had to pass before he let his new and improved sister out into the world. First she had to take his side against their father. Then it would be Jarod's turn. If she turned her back on Jarod when he needed her most then Lyle would know Miss Parker was finally the sister he had always wanted.

"Not Daughter," Angelo muttered to himself as he shuffled through the ventilation shaft. He hadn't been able to see Jarod. Jarod hadn't been out of his cell for the past week and the ventilation was much too narrow for Angelo to get through to see his friend. Angelo shook his head. He didn't know what to do. Daughter and the Lost One were not right. They talked and laughed. Daughter smiled at him. Daughter only smiled for Jarod.

"Jarod. Jarod," Angelo chanted softly. He had to find a way to get to Jarod. He had tried to see Daughter again and she hadn't yelled.  
She had smiled at him with kindness in her eyes and pity in her heart.  
Angelo didn't like it. Daughter called him nasty names and snapped at him, but underneath that was fear and love. Angelo knew that Daughter was afraid to show that she cared for him. When Daughter loved people they went away.

Angelo stopped and slumped down against the cool metal. He had to think. He couldn't get to Jarod and neither could Sydney because he had overheard Sydney arguing with Mr. Parker. The Lost One was the only one with access to Jarod. Angelo had no idea what to do, but he had to do something soon. Daughter needed to be herself or she would never survive the Center.

It wasn't going to happen again. Jarod was not going to believe that Miss Parker was dead. It didn't matter that their weird telepathic connection was severed, it didn't mean she was dead. He would know if she was dead. The emptiness...it would consume him.

Jarod sat on his cot and stared at the wall. He had been left alone for weeks since the beating. Lyle had been in only once to taunt him,  
but nothing more than that. He wasn't Lyle's focus anymore and that wasn't good. Any time Lyle wasn't spending with him, he had to be with Miss Parker doing God knows what to her. There was only one way he could help her. One way he could repair the damage done to her after they had gotten away from the Center. Jarod had to pretend to be Lyle.

It was easy becoming a doctor, a pilot, or a teacher. Becoming a cold blooded psycho was scary. Jarod didn't want to feel what Lyle felt or think his dark, twisted thoughts. it was easy pretending to be someone who saved lives and helped people, but it was easier pretending to be someone who took lives and hurt people. That was the scary part.  
But he would do it for her.

From the moment of his birth, the boy was alone. His adopted family did not belong to him, but there was someone who did. She was out there. He knew it. And she would love him and accept him. He searched for her relentlessly only to be disappointed time and time again. They weren't right and so they had to pay. It was frustrating and the frustration made him angry. Why was she hiding from him? Why wasn't she looking for him? Soon, he didn't care when the girl he found wasn't her. When they disappointed him, he could hurt them. He could rip love from other people's lives and leave them feeling as lost and alone as he was. It was fun. It was satisfying. So much more satisfying than looking for her. Fear and pain were so much easier to obtain than love and acceptance.

He appreciated the irony of the situation that once he had given up his quest, she walked right up to him. His sister. His perfect twin sister. She belonged to him. His cold, beautiful sister was his other half. His match. She only one flaw - she cared. She cared for their father - a cruel, ruthless bastard. She cared for Sydney - a pompous man who didn't have the balls to admit that he was as involved in the Center's activities as Raines. And Broots - a twitchy nobody who wasn't worth the scum on the bottom of her heels. But her worst flaw,  
her most damning sin, was caring for that freak of nature Center science experiment. It wasn't fair that Jarod got her love. That he got her loyalty. He had to change that. Everyone had to learn that his sister belonged to him, not them. Someday, she would love only him. Jarod would mean nothing to her.

With an angry cry, Jarod wrenched himself out of Lyle's thought patterns. He pounded on the cool cement wall of his cell. It was of little consolation that Lyle wouldn't kill Miss Parker. Instead he would find a way to twist her thoughts and destroy her feelings until she was as evil as he was.

"It won't happen," Jarod mumbled. He dashed angry tears from his eyes. As hard and cold as she liked to present herself, Miss Parker would never truly give up her soul. She would never become someone her mother would have hated. Jarod lay down on his cot, taking slow deep breaths to calm himself. Miss Parker would never leave him, not completely. He tried not to think about their severed connection. It didn't mean anything. Just because it no longer seemed to exist did not mean that Miss Parker now belonged to Lyle.

To be continued...

Author's Note: Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, I just wanted to let people know that I haven't abandoned this story or fan fiction writing. I dashed it off pretty quickly, so I also apologize for any typos or other errors. Thanks for everyone's support and the emails.  
They really are encouraging! 


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